I'd rather have tools along to fix something than be somewhere that is 2-3 hours from a rollback and AAA can't locate on a map.

It is close to 1,000 miles from the northwest to southeast corner of Montana. There are a lot of places where it is 75-100 miles to a town --- where there may or may not be wrecker service or a motel when you get to where they haul you.

These tools would also be used to help others. Besides I always carry tools in my cars... I guess I'm am old school... Still building my tool roll so I need to fit it with tools! any other tools you would add or replace from my list?

I am from another planet. It was called the United States of America, 1950. Men and boys there all carried a tool called a pocket knife. It goes in your pocket, not in a roll, but it's mighty handy. Among the tools in my car is a sharpening stone.

I remember decades ago going on our first tour with the Redding Rambling As. I carry tools & parts under the seats, etc. I helped out 4 people on the tour with my parts! (Carb, condensor & points (it's a Model A), glass fuel bowl, gaskets, etc.). RE: AAA, the tour went on a very rural road (Hwy 3)from the Valley to the coast, we were hours, if not days from any service call! Oh, and this was pre-cell phone.

Robert - That's going to be a beautiful tool roll! I do note that you have only addressed the mechanical,...not electrical. I would include a test light with probe and a length of electrical wire with alligator clips on each end. Of course, you'll have electrical tape and of course a roll of "handy-wire" and a tube of some type of silicone sealer along in a separate box as well, right? I guess the question is, do you intend to include anything besides mechanical type tools in the tool roll,....???

Oh, one thing I'd include for sure would be a small telescoping inspection mirror and telescoping magnet as well. I think I'd want a very small and compact hack saw as well, or at least a short section of hacksaw blade that could be used by itself, or, gripped at one end with a small vice grips. Hmmm,.....there's another thought,.....vice groups! I have a couple pairs of very small vice grips,....one sort of "needle nosed" and one regular. Very handy.

Actually Robert,....I'm probably not helping much,.....this could go on and on,.....and I guess a "tool roll" could very easily get out of hand as far as size & weight, right? Nice project though,....fun to plan and assemble, right? FWIW,.....harold

Robert - Again, for what it's worth, I have a tool roll that my Dad assembled years ago for a motor trip my folks took to Alaska from Chicago way back in the '60's. I think Dad did a pretty good job of assembling a good selection, and as a master leather carver, the soft suade (sp?) leather he used seems ideal. However, he might have designed the overall shape of the piece of leather to roll up more securely, altho' the rawhide ties work very well. I had a thought in regard to the shape & size of the leather,.....I wonder if on the internet, it would be possible to explore the various methods that butchers use to wrap meat like they did in the old days,...??? After all, there are still many shops that specialize on wrapping wild game during hunting season and such, right? I'm thinking that there must be some "IDEAL" method of wrapping sausages for instance, right? Might just be a source of good information that would apply to "the ideal tool roll"! Just sort of "thinking out loud" here though,.....FWIW,.....harold

Comment - if you can't keep your T operating whilst out touring with just a screwdriver, adjustable wrench, pliers, twine and wire, two tyre bars, head/sparkplug wrench, and an air pump,patch kit - why are you driving a Model T?

Harold, thanks for the input! I plan to do 3 toll rolls. One for tools as you can see, one for specialty tools (T band tool, scraper, spring compressor, Etc.) And one for electrical/repairs which will have bailing wire, electrical wire, plugs, bulbs, duct tape, electric tape, connectors etc.

But back to my tool roll. The tools you see are just there for measurement. (If you look carefully you can see the wrenches are metric!) trying to get the right spacing between the tools and such.

This tool roll will have around 35 slots so plenty of space for all the goodies! But during shows I'll probably take out the modern tools and replace them with period tools (you know just for fun and the Oooo Ahhhh factor)

I am also working on a design to carry sockets in a roll (and not inside a bag). I think I figured it out (in my head) just need to go to homedepot to buy some hardware to try it out to see if it works. This way one can take a socket set with them anywhere and not have loose pieces that rattle around.

As for the why do this when you have AAA and a cell phone comments.... Simple answer? Fun! I love inventing and building g new ideas. As a bonus you can help others if need be...

It won't fit in a tool roll but I take a small clamp on vise (clamps to running board) and a hack saw as well as just about everything else. Where we drive a lot, AAA won't cover coming to get me (I was a AAA contractor for 33 years).

I keep it simple 3 Cresent wrenchs two 6" and one 12" One pair vice grip pliers Two screw drivers one big one small Bailing wire and one electrical wire rolls Cutters and needle nose pliers Jack and tire irons hammer and straps to change to tire Gallon of water and 2 qt oil and an inner tube Couple common T size nuts bolts set Coils plugs and duct tape Need anything else I can tow tryck

Robert, on the back of Steve's pocket knife suggestion, two tools I carry on my person will lighten the load in your roll. I carry a Victorinox multi tool which has an excellent pair of needle nosed pliers as well as the usual tools. The second tool is a 4" crescent wrench which opens up to 9/16" It never ceases to amaze me how often I haul one or the other out.

Getting closer... still waiting for the "strap" punch to arrive in the mail... so I decided to have some fun with my older tools (including the T tools)

All the way to the left I am going to fold over the leather add a flap and snaps and now I have a pocket to place tins with cotter pins etc. and hubcap wrench.

Once I punch the holes I will be riveting the leather in place then going to the local cobbler (I don't have a sewing machine or the mental capacity to do it by hand!) for him to sew everything together.

Robert, I have carried what I call my "travel box" with me in any vehicle that I happen to be in, be it modern car, boat, tractor trailer, crane, Model T for the past 35 years. It is a small plastic fishing tackle box and is packed with exactly the right stuff to "get home" with. In fact, I once blew a turbo gasket on my Frieghtliner in El Paso, Texas, on a Sunday, and was able to fashion a gasket from a beer can, on the side of the road, and drove all the way back to NJ on it, with the tools on hand.

I know a guy who took all his tools on his first tour and swore he'd never do it again. He spent most of his down time repairing others cars, he never saw the towns they went thru or got to relax at the hotel bar. Don.

My rule of thumb is to take everything you can think you might need or want that you can stuff it, even if you've got to tie it to your running boards, because the one thing you'll need in all probability will be the one thing you left at home that you didn't think you'd need.

Finally the punch came in yesterday! Since the site was down I wish it would have come on Friday so I could spend the weekend screwing around with this project. Instead I just stared blankly at the screen for 4 days...

Anyway, I started punching holes!

Where I am today (changed things a bit. you can see the rivet next to the ball-pin. I decided to run the strap in two directions to make taking the wrench out a bit easier.

I have decided to make this roll my "Show roll" to show off my tools at shows. I am going to make another roll after this to hold my newer tools.

All holes made... straps ran through... tools in place (just so I can see it all together) looks good!

Tomorrow when I have the time I am going to go buy some sewing double sided tape and tape the tool strips and end pouch down.

Next I am going to rivet the tool strips down 4 rivets per strip (two on each end. I think I might rivet the pouch corners as well just to have the extra support... then it goes to the cobbler for final sewing...

Here is a picture of everything set up (still missing some important tools, looking for period correct, like the cutter, and cotter pin extractor, etc.)

Robert - What a nice project! I would think that the toughest part of this project was probably deciding exactly which tools to include, and I'm pretty sure that one of the first tools you'll need is the one you decided NOT to include in the tool roll, right? Ha ha,...just kidding (sorta') and for sure, you have to "draw the line" somewhere, right? Not much sense in having a 175 lb tool roll I guess,........again, nice project and nice post,.....thanks,......harold

Robert - In thinking about this, and having had some experience with a fairly extensive tool roll my Dad put together many years ago, I have an idea:

If I were you, and I should say if I were capable of doing the very nice work that you did, I would eventually put together a very small and compact "companion" tool roll to go with the large one. In the small tool roll, I'd include such items as a feeler gauge, very small inspection mirror, small and compact electrical test light with probe, ignition wrench set with very small pliers and screw drivers, etc.

I am going to build another tool roll for a loose Walden socket set (never came with a box). I have a pretty good idea on how I am going to do it... its interesting and I have not seen it done like this... stay tuned.

This roll is back at the cobblers to sew the flaps. I should have it back by Friday if he is not so busy. Once back i'll place all the tools and snap some pictures with it on my T.

Robert - I sure like how this turned out for you. Really, really nice!

Hey, I had another "bright idea" that I considered "PM'ing" you about, 'cause it's such a "way out" idea, I wasn't too sure I wanted anybody else to see it but you, but then I figured,....what the heck! There are many that probably think I'm a little "weird" anyway,....so who cares, right?

If you were going to dedicate your new tool roll to one Model T in particular, and "IF" that Model T was equipped with common sense type side curtain fasteners, and you added a couple appropriately spaced female common sense grommets to one side of the tool roll, I was thinking that with the tool roll unrolled, you might be able to hang the unrolled kit on the side of the car for easy "waist-high" access to tools while doing mechanical work on the car. The soft leather of the tool roll wouldn't scratch the Model T door and hanging the tool roll there would leave all of the running board space free to use as temporary "workbench".

To change it I would have to probably place two or three of those fasteners on one of the flaps to hold the flap up so the tools would not 'slide out'. I would have to put some type of snap on the pouch as well to keep things inside.

That said,I remember seeing a WWII Willys Jeep that had a tool kit hanging from the back soft top bow... pretty cool!

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